Cesar copetta



Patented Mar. 30, 1920.

Gums um/cmvn UNITED STATES PAT NT OFFICE.

CESAR CQPETTA, OI PARIS, FRANCE, ASSIG NOR' OF ONE-HALF TO PAUL J'ANSSENS DE VABEBEK E, OF WESTMINSTER, ENGLAND.

MEAN S FOBSUPPLYING LIQUIDS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I Cr'isan Corn'rrA, a citizen of the'French Iiepublic, residing at 21 Rue Drouot, Paris, in the Republic of France, have invented certain newand useful Improvements in or Relating to Means for Supplying Liquids, of which the followinn is a specification. a

his invention relates to means for supplying liquids such as means for supplying liquid'fuel for engines for various vehicles mon reservoir or'feeder open to atmosphere, I the contalners and the reservolr belng so or vessels although it is capable of general use for supplying other liqulds for any purpose. The chlef object of the present invention is to provide safe and reliable means for supplying or containing liquids especially in the case of liquid fuel, such as petrol, which means if damaged by acc dent, or by any enemy rifle or gun fire or the like will not be put out of action orrendered useless butwill continue to operate.

at least for a sufficient length of time to enable the liquidsupply'to be carried out as desired with safety. The invention may for example bev applied to petrol suppl means for use on certain types of aerop anes or airships, the main 0b ect being to enable the supply of petrol to the engine to continue with safety even though the petrol tank or container has been penetrated at one or more places by a bullet or shell fragments, so that the pilot may continue flying' with safety. A further object is to provide means for indicating that the petrol (or other liquid) tank or container has been pierced, and also for indicating the level of the liquid in the tank after the latter has been pierced, (or at any time) so that (in the case of an aeroplane) the pilot may know whether to continue on his missionor -to return to headquarters, or to a'place of safety, so as to avoid landing in enemy territory or any other undesired lace.

' According to this invention number of separate and independent. hermetically closed liquid containers and a comconstructed and arranged that the liquid flows from the contain'ers into the reservoir from which latter the liquid is supplied for use and under normal conditions the liquid level in the reservoir is practically constant and automatically controls the flow from the fee er.

provide a Speciflcation of Letters Patent. Patentd Ma 30, 1920,

. Application filed June 28, 1917. Serial No. 177,615.

unopened containers. The separate liquid containers which may in some cases be con veniently comprised in a single tank, are connected by supply pipes to the common supply reservoir or" feeder, which in some cases may be armored, and which i open to atmosphere by means of a tube or tubes or the like extending to a point above the highest l1qu 1d level in the containers; this tube or'the like may be adapted to serve as a gage or indicator, as hereinafter explained.

'When filling the containers, they are open to atmosphere, and the liquid is supplied to one container so as to flow into the common supply reservoir feeder from which lat; ter the liquid flows into the other containers through the supply pipes and into the open tube or tubes. After filling, the various contamer-s are closed to render them air-tight, and the liquid which 'is under atmospheric pressure owing to the aforesaid open tube or the like is drawn from the feeder so as to first empty the tube; when the liquid reachesa level to uncover the supply pipes from the various containers the liquid flows from the latter and is replaced by air entering through the empty open tube until the liquid again covers the supply pipes. This operation continues automatically, and practicall a constant level is maintained in the In the event of one of the containers being pierced by a bullet the liquid immediately flows from that container into the feeder, filling the latter and also the aforelarge scale, showing the aforesaid supply pipes connected thereto.

Fi 3 is a horizontal section taken up proxlmately on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

The tank (Fig. l) is divided up by partitions into a large number of separate liquid containers or compartments a, closed hermetically by cocks a or other devices placed at their upper parts. One of these compartments, however, is fitted with a plug a hermetically closing it, which plug can be removed for filling the tank. From the lower part of each compartment a, a supply pipe 1; extends into the interior of a comparatively small common supply reservoir or feeder 0 situated below the tank which feeder may be armored to protect it againstbullets; the supply pipe from the compartment closed by the plug a is marked 6 and will be hereinafter referred to, the neck 0 of the feeder c is hermetically closed for example by a plug 0 (see Figs. 2 and 3) in or to which the pipes b, b are secured. The lower part of the feeder is provided with an outlet pipe e leading for example to the carbureter and having a cook or valve 6' as shown.

In the constructional form shown, the

' lower open ends of the several supply pipes b, b are disposed at the same level 1n the feeder 0. A tube 05 leading from the feeder 0 but preferably having its lower open end at a level higher than the level of the lower open ends of supply pipes b is prolonged externally to a level slightly higher than the highest liquid level in the subdivided tank and establishes communication between the petrol contained in the feeder and the outer air. The tube at may be of glass or provided with a glass portion d and may serve as a gage for which purpose it may be graduated. The tube 03 may also be duplicated or formed with one or more branch tubes d flows up the pipes b to fill the various compartments a the petrol will also flow up the tube d which, as aforesaid, may serve as a d which, as aforesaid is gage to indicate the level of petrol in the tank. When the various compartments of the tank have been filled, the plug a? is remetically close the various compartments. When starting the engine the cock c on the pipe e leadin to thecarbureter is opened to allow petro to flow from the feeder to the carbureter, and the petrol is drawn from the tube (1 which is the only means of communication with atmosphere. Thus the petrolin the feeder is alwa s under atmospheric pressure and the leve of the petrol in the feeder is gradually lowered during the workin of the engine, until the petrol uncovers 51c lower ends of the various pipes b and b leading from the containers at at which time petrol flows from the latter through the pipes band 6' and is replaced by air entering through the tube d. The ends of the pipes b and b are again closed or covered by the petrol which has entered the feeder, until the level in the latter is again lowered to uncover the supply pipes when the feeder receives a further supply.

Thus the supply of petrol to the feeder is placed and the cocks a are operated to herautomaticallycontrolled, and the above de scribed operation continues automatically with the result that a practically constant level shown by the line m-w is maintained in the tank and above the carburetor. During the working of the engine the gagetube d is empty, thus showing to the pilot that the tank has not been damaged.

If one (or more) compartments a be pierced by a bullet or a shell fragment, the perforated compartment (or compartments) is at once put into communication with the atmosphere. The petrol in the perforated compartment below the perforation flows into the feeder 0, filling the latter and rising in the gage tube (1 to the level of the petrol in the perforated compartment. The tube preferably of glass enables the pilot to see the petrol appear in this tube, and ,thus to know that the tank is perforated. The feeder is now only supplied from the perforated compartment and the aforesaid automatic action due to the un covering and covering of the ends of the supply pipes, is not resumed until the petrol in the eeder has reached its normal level, after all the petrol contained in the damaged compartment or compartments and in the tube d has been used, at which time the supply pipes are uncovered to allow petrol from the undamaged compartments to flow into the feeder to recommence the automatic action as aforesaid. I r

The moment the pilot sees the petrolappear in the glass gage tube, he will as aforethe most unfortunate of circumstances only the'petrol enter the glass about one third of the tank is likely to be damaged, there is alwaysenough petrol left for the pilot to continue flying, so that it is not necessary to make a landing in an undesired place. A further advantage is that a constant level of petrol above the carbureter is maintained.

Thepilot can at any time ascertain the quantity of petrol contained in the tank, by opening the air cocks at and thus opening the various compartments to the atmosphere, whereupon the petrol will fill the feeder, and will rise in the graduated glass gage tube d to thelevel of the liquid in the containers.

When the pilot knows that his tank has been damaged, he will be able to cut off the engine ignition and thus avoid the likelihood of the machine 'catchin fire and falling in flames to the ground. he pilot upon seeing gage, and thus knowing that his tank has Just been. damaged .will at once cut off the ignition until the tube cl is empty, which will show him that the escape of petrol outside the tank has ceased. It will then be possible for him to restart the engine, and either proceed on his'mission or return to a place of safety.

In no circumstances can the petrol contained in the undamaged compartments flow out through the damaged compartments as the petrol until reaching the level 02-12: in the feeder covers the outlet apertures of the various supply pipes 11 or b.

The cocks amay be operated simultaneously by means of a serles of rods, and

' they, may be actuated against a spring or springs normally retainin the cooks closed or the several cocks may replaced by a multiple way cock. To facilitate the entrance of air into each compartment, a tube 03 is used which leads from sli htly above the level of the petrol in the feefer and provided with branches 03 opening into the upper part of each compartment. This arrangement of the pipe (Z with its branchpipes d insures a constant and steady flow of the oil from the containers at to the feeder 0, by virtue of the lower end of the pipe (i being preferably a slight distance above the lower ends of the pipes 12. With this arrangement, the liquid flowing from the pipes 6 into feeder 0, having attained a level corresponding to the lower ends of the pipes b, will still continue to flow into the feeder until the lower end of thepipe d has been closed or submerged by the liquid, thus hermetically closing the container. However, it is clear that should the oil be drawn from mitted to the containers at to cause a flow to the feeder to replace that whlch has been withdrawn therefrom; and as soon as the liquid level again rises to the lower end of the pipe d, the containers will again become hermetically sealed and the flow will cease. This action will take lace whenever the liquid level in the fee or falls' below the lower end of the pipe (1. This pi d with its branches 0?, may or may not b used in actual practice as may be found desirable.

Although the invention is described more particularly as applied to the petrol supply means on an aeroplane it must of course be understood that itis intended for use for supplying any kind of'liquid for any purpose. The invention is especially suitable for use in connection with armored motor vehicles or cycles, motor boats or other vessels'in which liquid fuel for internal combustion engines or for oil burners is. employed. The invention may also be used in connection with the supply of water for cooling internal combustion engines or for supplying water for steam boilers.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. Means for supplying liquids, comprising in combination a number of non-communicating containers, a common supply reservoir in communication with said containers and supplied therefrom, said common supply reservoirs being open to the atmosphere at a point above the highest level in the containers.

2. Means for supplying liquids, comprising in combination a number of non-communicating containers, a common supply reservoir in communication with said containers, and a tube leading from the reservoir and extending to a point'above the highest level inthe containers and open to the atmosphere.

3. Means for supplying liquids, comprising a number of non-communicating 'containers, a common supply reservoir below and in communication with said containers and fed by gravity therefrom, and a member leading rom said reservoir open to the atmosphere'above the highest liquid level in the containers, said member being adapted to serve as a gage or indicator.

- 4. Means for supplying liquids, compris ing in combination a number of separate containers, common supply reservoir, and separate supply pipes leading .from the lower parts of the containers to'the reservoir and terminating at the same level therein, the reservoir being open to atmosphere at a point above the highest liquid level in the containers.

5. Means .for supplying liquids comprising in combination a number of separate .will become uncovered and, air will be ad- 7 6.5 the feeder e, the lower end of the pipe d containers, a common su'pplyreservoir, sepa- 13 0 rate su ply pipes leading from the lower ing in combination a tank divided a parts the containers to the reservoir and number of separate hermetically. closed terminating at the same level therein, and compartments, a comparatively small comtainers and terminating at the same level an open ended tube extending from the mon supply armored reservoir, separate reservoir at a level higher than the level supply pipes extending to said reservoir of the ends of said supply pipes to a point which is o m to atmosphere at a point above the highest liquid level in the con-J above the highest liquid level in said comtainers. partments, and connections whereby the 6. Means for supplying liquids, oompriscompartments may be opened to atmosphere ing in combination a number of separate when desired. o containers, a common supply reservolr, sepa- 12. Means for supplying liquids, comprisrate sufpply pipes leading from the lower ing in combination, a tank divided into a.

part 0 the containers and terminating at number of separate hermetically closed comthe same level in the reservolr, and open partments, connections whereby the com ended tubes communicating with the reserpartments can be opened to atmosphere voir at a level higher than the ends of the when desired, a common supply armored supply pipes toa point above the hlghest reservoir, separate supply pipes leading-to liqpid level in the containers, one of-said aid reservoir and terminating at the same tu es being adapted to form a gage or mdllevel therein, a tube or tubes communicatcator.. ing with said reservoir at a point above the '7. Means for supplying liquids, comprislevel of the ends of the supply pipes and 1n he'i' y o e containers, a 0011119011 highest. liquid level in the compartments sup ly reservoir, separate supply pipes one of said tubes being adapted to serve as lea ing from the lower parts 0 the cona gage o i di t in the reservoir, 11 open ended tllbe extendcomprising a plurality of non-communicatll'lg from the reservoir at a P011112 dbOVB the 0011133111313 a, reservoir gravity l v l o Sald PP y P P to a P h h from said containers, and means for indicatthe hlghest hquld and cohhectlohs ing when one of said containers has'been whereby each cohtahlel' can be 0Pened to punctured and for giving the liquid level mosp when desll'ed; in the remainder of said containers.

Means f PP y g q prls- 14. In a device of the character described,

'ing in combina i n anumber of I \;L number of non-communicating containers hermetically closed containers, connections rran at one level a common su. 1 whereby each container can be opened to atged pp y reservoir below the containers and in com- 1 mosphel'e when desired, a common pp y munication therewith and supplied by grav- 'a p l p y P P leadlhg. ity therefrom, an extension provided on said from the containers to the reservo1r and a reservoir and. open to the atmosphere at a member extendm from the reservoir and point above the highest liquid level in the p 0 h P F at a P hhove the containers, said extension acting as means g s llquld fi the conhalhers and for indicating when one of said containers said member forming a gage or 1nd1cator. h s been punctured and for giving the oil 9. Means for supplying liquids, oompr slevel in said containers, and means for peringin combination, a tank divided into a mitting the liquid level of the containers to .number of separate compartments and a b t in d c ill,

comparatively small supply reservo r below 15. A device of the kind described comthe tank in communicatlon with said sepai in a plurality of normally closed conrate compartments and open to atmosphere mi a om o u l rv ir, i at a point above the highest liquid level in connections between the containers and resthe said compartmen s- I ervoir for supplying liquid by gravity to 10. Means for supplying liquids, comprlsthe latter, the normal liquid level in the resing in combination a tank divided into a ervoir hermetically closing the containers, number of separate compartments, a comand an indicator tube extending from the paratix'elysmall common supply armored reservoir at a point above the normal liquid reservoir, separate supply pipes leading level therein to a point substantially above from the said compartments to the reservoir the highest liquid level in the containers, and terminating at the -same level therein whereby when one or more of said containand an. open ended tube or tubes communiers has been punctured the reservoir will be eating with the reservoir at a level above the flooded and the indicator tube will indicate level of the ends of said supply pipes to a the condition of the device.

point above the highest liquid level in the 16., Meansflfor supplying liquids, comsaid compartments, one of said tubes being prising in combination a number of sepaadapted to serve as a gage or indicator. rate containers, a common supply, reservoir 11. Means for supplying liquids, comprisin communication with said containers 'and 13. In a devlce of the character described in combination a number of separ open to atmosphere at a point above the automatically fed by gravity therefrom,

said reservoir being open to atmosphereat a point above the highest liquid level in the containers.

17. A device of the kind described, comprising a normally closed container, a feeder open to atmosphere and disposed below the container and fed by gravity therefrom, a supply pipe between the container and feeder and having its lower end terminating at a point within the feeder whereby the liquid supplied to the feeder will rise to a level to close the lower end of said pipe, and another pipe communicating with said container above the liquid level therein and terminating within the feeder at a point above the lower end of said supp-1y ipe to be closed by the normal liquid love in the feeder said second pipe being adapted to automatically supply air to the container when the liquid level of the feeder is below normal.

18. Means for supplying liquids, com-- prising in combination a number of noncommunicating containers, a common supply reservoir below said containers and fed by gravity therefrom, supply pipes leading from the lower parts of the containers to the reservoir and terminating at the same level therein, pipes communicating with said containers above the liquid level therein and terminating within the reservoir at a point above the lower end of said first pipes, said second pipes being adapted to automatically supply air to the containers when the liquid level of the reservoir is below normal, and a member leading from said reservoir and open to the atmosphere above the highest liquid level in said containers.

CESAR COPETTA. 

